"Mother H.'s, a night -house opposite the front entrance to Drury Lane Theatre, was then the great rendezvous for the gay city birds, as well as the more fantastic dandies of the West. Mother H. or Mrs. Hoskins, was the remanent of Mr. Hoskins, who had, in the words of George Barrington, the pickpocket, "left his country for his country's good." She was the ugliest woman I ever beheld; but she dearly loved paint, dress, and decorations. Her attire was in the highest style of fashion, generally black velvet or satin, jewellery in profusion, silk stockings, and very neat kid shoes. She had rather a pretty foot and ankle.Apropos of her shoes, I may here remark that the old girl was artful, deceitful, and dishonest. I remember a half-drunken, foolish fellow dropping an handful of soveriegns in the large upper-room. A number of the "fair and frail" were present; but Mrs. H. said, "Now stand away, girls; I'll pick them up, and see that the gentleman ain't robbed." She should have added, "By any one but myself," for about every second soveriegn she took from the floor she "welled" in her shoes.
"Well," said one of the girls, "I don't blame you, mother, but I should like to stand in your shoes." ...
Mrs. H. retired with an ample fortune more than thirty years ago. She turned religious, married a highly respectable timber merchant at Brighton, who died and left her money. The last time I saw her was in the year 1833. She had again tried her luck in the matrimonial lottery, although nearly seventy years of age. Her third husband was a serious, calm respectable Dissenter*. He outlived her.
The establishment, long after she left it, was known as Mother H.'s but with her departed the prestige; yet there was nothing fascinating about her, unless her serpent-like qualities constituted the alluring element.
-Rogues Progress, The Autobiography of "Lord Chief Baron" Nelson 1860.
The ownership of gaming houses was not limited to bawdy houses, or lower class women. In 1745 the Ladies Mordington and Casselis attempted to intimidate peace officers, and turned them away from an attempt to shut down the ladies' gaming houses by claiming privilege as Peeresses of England. They submitted the following instrument to the House of Lords to argue their case to protect themselves and their employees.
"I, Dame Mary, Baroness of Mordington, do hold a house in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden, for and as an Assembly, where all persons of credit are at liberty to frequent and play at such diversions as are used at other Assemblys. And I have hired Joseph Dewberry, William Horsley, Ham Cropper, and George Sanders, as my servants, or managers, (under me) thereof. I have given them orders to direct the management of the other inferior servants, (namely) John Bright, Richard Davis, John Hill, John Vandenvoren, as box-keepers. Gilbert Richardson, housekeeper, John Chaplain, regulator, William Stanley and Henry Huggins, servants that wait on the Company at the said Assembly, William Penny and Joseph Penny, as porters thereof. And all the above mentioned persons I claim as my domestick servants, and demand all those privilages that belong to me, as a Peeress of Great Britain, appertaining to my said Assembly. M. MORDINGTON. Dated 8 JAN. 1745.
The House of Lords found against them, and declared that no person is entitled to Privilege fo Peerage against prosecution for keeping a gaming house.
There were a number of other noble women, Lady Buckinghamshire, Lady Archer, and and Lady Devonshire, among others who hosted gambling in their homes. Some were simply being fashionable hostesses, others were profiting from the games as well.
`Resolved and declared that no person is entitled to privilege of Peerage against any prosecution or proceeding for keeping any public or common gaming house, or any house, room, or place for playing at any game or games prohibited by any law now in force.' That such practice continued in vogue is evident from the police proceedings subsequently taken against THE FAMOUS LADY BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. This notorious gamestress of St James's Square, at the close of the last century, actually slept with a blunderbuss and a pair of pistols at her side, to protect her Faro bank.On the 11th of March, 1797, her Ladyship, together with Lady E. Lutterell and a Mrs Sturt, were convicted at the Marlborough Street Police-court, in the penalty of £50, for playing at the game of Faro; and Henry Martindale was convicted in the sum of £200, for keeping the Faro table at Lady Buckinghamshire's. The witnesses had been servants of her Ladyship, recently discharged on account of a late extraordinary loss of 500 guineas from her Ladyship's house, belonging to the Faro bank.
Note: The case is reported in the Times of March 13th, 1797. One cannot help being struck with the appearance of the Times newspaper at that period -- 70 years ago. It was printed on one small sheet, about equal to a single page of the present issue, and contained four pages, two of which were advertisements, while the others gave only a short summary of news -- no leader at all.
In the same year, the croupier at the Countess of Buckinghamshire's one night announced the unaccountable disappearance of the cash-box of the Faro bank. All eyes were turned towards her Ladyship. Mrs Concannon said she once lost a gold snuff-box from the table, while she went to speak to Lord C -- . Another lady said she lost her purse there last winter. And a story was told that a certain lady had taken, *by mistake, a cloak which did not belong to her, at a rout given by the Countess of -- -- . Unfortunately a discovery of the cloak was made, and when the servant knocked at the door to demand it, some very valuable lace which it was trimmed with had been taken off. Some surmised that the lady who stole the cloak might also have stolen the Faro bank cash-box.
Soon after, the same Martindale, who had kept the Faro bank at Lady Buckinghamshire's, became a bankrupt, and his debts amounted to £328,000, besides `debts of honour,' which were struck off to the amount of £150,000. His failure is said to have been owing to misplaced confidence in a subordinate, who robbed him of thousands. The first suspicion was occasioned by his purchasing an estate of £500 a year; but other purchases followed to a considerable extent; and it was soon discovered that the Faro bank had been robbed sometimes of 2000 guineas a week! On the 14th of April, 1798, other arrears, to a large amount, were submitted to, and rejected by, the Commissioners in Bankruptcy, who declared a first dividend of one shilling and five-pence in the pound.
Woman Gamblers
Woman Gaming Hall Owners